Dutch Bike Co Weblog

Good grief, we're so close to opening customers are already trying to get around the construction fence out front! I'd like to thank all of our wonderful Seattle customers for waiting so patiently while we've been putting this beautiful new space together. While you might miss the “underground” ambiance of the old warehouse space, or the hilarious – if sometimes disturbing – antics of the regulars down at the boat launch, you'll have a wonderful time in the new shop. With a near-perfect double short americano in hand, I've already had some wonderfully relaxing mornings watching the increasingly large volume of bicycle traffic up and down Ballard Avenue in front of our gigantic glass front. In a few days, you'll be able to check out the new models from Linus or Civia – and of course Workcycles – out front, or take your coffee and wander towards the other end of the shop to take a look at some of the cool new parts and accessories populating all this new wall space.

So thanks again for waiting for us, Seattle, and in just a few days we'll be back in action; ready to tune your bikes, satisfy your practical bike cravings, and get you all wired on some great coffee.

If you've talked with any of us here at Dutch Bike in the past year, you've probably heard us talk about “the move.” While we're staying in the same area, we're moving the Seattle shop onto historic Ballard Avenue: the main street of one of Seattle's most interesting and vibrant neighborhoods. Ballard Ave perfectly balances the nightlife, boutiques, and restaurants we enjoy with the hardware, sheet metal, machining, and other light industrial businesses that keeps the neighborhood lively and living. Of course, because we could never forget our roots down by the boat launch in “scenic industrial Ballard,” we feel right at home in a building between a machine shop and 58 year old Ballard Hardware and Supply.

The building into which we're moving was for the first part of the century home to Kolstrand Manufacturing Co., a famous name in the Northwest marine industry. The Graham-Baba designed rebuild has maintained the old brick shell with even the remnants of the original “Kolstrand Mfg. Co.” paint intact while creating a polished and eminently usable retail and restaurant space inside.

Our designer and builder – David Lipe of 16D – has similarly reused much of the original wood and materials in the interior construction, including some beautiful and humorous touches that you'll just have to drop by to experience. Inside the shop we've also commissioned a mural by Ed Fotheringham, our friend responsible for our “flower girl” and “keg mover” posters.

In addition to Alex – the newest addition to the bike shop – we've got several great baristas (baristi for the language purists) warming up for the cafe component of the new shop. Your eyes do not deceive: the new Dutch Bike Seattle shop will be Seattle's first fully implemented bicycle cafe! We'll be brewing excellent and powerful coffee from local roaster Lighthouse, starting at six AM so you can start even your earliest morning rides with a bang. David has been updating the Flickr stream with the array of delicious snacks Julie has been designing for the shop, and the pictures will make you hungrier than anything I could write here. You'll also find made-to-order sandwiches, pastries from lauded local bakery Macrina, and some tasty – and surprisingly filling – cookies.

The finishing touches are going on the construction as I write this, and our grand opening is still on schedule for July 24^th. We'll be fully operational- tuning, repairing, upgrading, renting, and of course selling bicycles, and rolling out an expanded array of interesting accessories. With two expert mechanics our turnaround time for tune-ups and other in-depth maintenance will be close to the same you'd expect from your coffee orders. In fact, if you're ordering anything more complicated than an americano while you get your flat fixed, maybe we'll race you!

I returned last night from a whirlwind three day trip to Chicago.  My main mission was to secure the lease for our new shop.  Mission accomplished.  Thanks to our friend Alby Van Alyea and broker Diana Rendina for making it a fun and smooth process.  And a special thanks to our new landlord and his enthusiastic wife for taking a liking (from afar) to us.  We look forward to meeting the both of you soon. I'm not yet ready to reveal the neighborhood or the specific address, but I am willing to play twenty questions over the next few days.  So, if you want to play, just ask me yes or no question here in the blog.  I will answer in a timely manner.   The one who guesses the street and neighborhood will win a Dutch Bike Seattle T-shirt, illustrated by Ed Fotheringham (cartoonist/illustrator whose work can be seen in The New Yorker).  Friends and family are not eligible.  And no, Ed McMahon will not be coming to your door with an million dollar check from Publisher's Clearinghouse.

Last month I was interviewed by Crai Bower for a Forbes Traveler article entitled North America's Most Bike Friendly Cities where I had a chance to  hint at the need for a shift in the way we view bicycles - from sporting goods to transportation appliances.  I also had another chance to kiss Portland's ass as one of the great cycling cities.  I do love Portland, certainly as a cycling mecca and hope America's ass-kissing of Portland as a great cycling city will stir the envy of sport-cycling-centric Seattle (and other cities with elitist cycling egos) to invest more in cycling infrastructure for the everyday rider.  One of the other top cycling cities mentioned in the article is Chicago and from what I recently observed it's true.  There are seemingly more everyday people, in everyday clothes, riding ordinary bikes at casual velocities than in any other US city I have recently visited. Chicago is big and it's flat and there are a lot of old Schwinns piloted by the children of the original owners.  There are bike lanes along many of the main boulevards.  Mayor Daley is committed to making Chicago the best cycling city in the USA.  His plan calls for a 500 mile network of bikeways so no Chicagoan is more than on-half mile from a bikeway.  This may explain why our biggest and most fervent customer base is in Chicago. Chicago takes its working class viewpoint and applies it to cycling with superb effect.

Today we were featured on the front page of the Seattle Post Intelligencer's business section in the article Small Retail: A practical ride with the subtitle reading "Biking upright, Dutch-style, is catching on".  And, it is catching on.  This makes us happy.  More and more people locally are finding us and tickled that they need no special uniform, athletic qualifications or technical knowledge to operate our bikes.  They are meant to be ridden in the manner we used to ride and love bikes as children.  This explains the grins and exhuberance which usually accompany test rides.

For those of you who read the PI article, you already know we let the cat out of the bag.  Some of you may have already put two and two together.  For everyone else, I'd like to tell you, we are opening a second retail shop in Chicago sometime this fall.  Thanks to our fervent cutomers there, including the incomperable aLex, we already feel welcome.

Ah, what a super opening party. We're still buzzing, and not just because there's some beer left in the keg. Thanks to the 100 or so who came out to celebrate throughout the course of a very long evening. Also, thanks to those of you who brought their kids along for the ride — literally. I enjoyed their zeal for two-wheeled transport. Tim and Anne from Carfreedays have already posted some superb reportage and fine pic's. Nice job with the rear curtain sync Tim. I've managed to post a few pic's I had a chance to snap, while I wasn't running around blabbing, adjusting seat posts, perfecting my Birdy trade show folding demo or stuffing brats and chips into my mouth. I have no better way of describing the joy that people generated through the multiple Conference Bike expeditions to Ballard Avenue than to point you at the image of a laughing Val piloting one of the two notorious CoBi's. Thanks Val, you are a the Admiral of the Fleet. We are already looking forward to our next event this spring.

Some of you may have been wondering when it was finally going to happen, when we officially open the doors of our retail space. Well, tonight is the night we celebrate that great moment. Of course we'll be at the Seattle Bike Expo this morning and a bit into the afternoon, but this evening after the show, we'll be throwing down some BBQ, hoisting some beers and toasting our staff, friends and family who helped us get this far. It also happens to be founder David Schmidt's birthday as well as longtime friend Gaylene Meyer's birthday, so a cheers to them, or two, or more, will be in order. I've got a bottle of champagne for that. For all of you lucky enough to be reading this blog post this morning or afternoon, well, you're invited too. So come on down to our shop this evening at 6PM and join us.

Apparently we missed catching Lance Armstrong roaming around NAHBS last weekend, where the builders are celebrities and the cyclists are the fans. Lance is going to earn a whole new legion of fans as he gets into the commuter cycle business. The Austin American Statesman reports that Lance is opening an 18,000 square foot retail bike shop called Mellow Johnny's (apparently after his Tour de France nickname) in his hometown, Austin, Texas. To emphasize the significance of getting Joe Average into cycling, project partner Bart Knaggs was quoted as saying: "If you're a commuter, you're just as important to us as the state champion on a road bike." To which Armstrong added, "Potentially, more important." This spells good news for the commuter cycling movement in general and certainly bicycle advocates in Austin have to be thrilled. Wow, 18,000 square feet of mega-store-sized retail space may be more retail space than all of the other bike shops in Austin combined. Could this be the equivalent of having the REI (Costco or Walmart!) of bicycle stores move into your neighborhood? I see Mellow Johnny franchises on the horizon... Regardless the retail market implications, addressing the new cyclist or returning cyclist thoughtfully is paramount. Joe and Jane Average should have recreational and commuting options which are comfortable and require no special regalia. The NAHBS show highlighted the art of the bicycle and celebrated the builder. Where do we in our industry celebrate and serve the everyday or novice rider? Most trade shows focus on technology. We have created a culture of object worship. I prefer to liken the bicycle to a toaster. Not that it can't and shouldn't be beautiful , but that it is a simple conveyance, an appliance which serves our daily needs. In order for bicycle use to once again (anyone remember the 1890's) proliferate amongst the masses, we need to celebrate the utility and joy which can be found in everyday bicycle use. To that extent, I would like to celebrate some of the people who came by to play with us at the shop today, as well they brought their friends and family along. David Stonich Laura McMullan, editor of Oh! Baby Buy Products Anne, co-author of Car Free Days. We will look forward to sometime meeting her husband Tim and sharing laughs and rants about our ever chubbier "bicycle advocate" mayor.